From the Ashes
by wweloverforever
Summary: Dean Ambrose and Roman Reigns are left standing to pick up the pieces after Seth Rollins has betrayed and left The Shield.
1. Chapter 1

The crowd had really helped tonight. They didn't make it better but it was really good to hear how behind the remaining Shield members they were. Dean Ambrose was getting stitched up. His chin had gotten busted open again during their fight with the Wyatts. Roman paced back and forth. "Rome," Dean sighed, "You're making me nervous bro." Roman nodded and found a seat, "Sorry".

Dean had said what he needed tonight... letting a little bit of Moxley out. Letting the darkness come out a little, not too much, he'd save that for Rollins. Roman's eyes are what bothered Dean. They were emotionless... cold, when he said what he needed to say about Seth's betrayal. Dean had never seen Roman like that.

"You alright there Dean?", Roman asked snapping Dean out of thoughts, "Yeah, I'm as good as I can be while getting needle threaded through my damn chin. You?" Roman groaned, "Damn eye again, probably more stitches." Dean tried not to smirk. Hard to smile with someone closing up your chin, "Yea, always my chin and your eye. Can't cut a break." Roman nodded.

Silence fell in the room as the medics stitched Dean up (9 stitches). Dean sat up looking at Roman who had his head down in his hands with them threaded through his long hair. Ever since Seth Rollins betrayed them, there were moments like this. Usually it was Seth who would speak during long periods of silence in the group. Dean and Roman were the silent types not wasting time with words when actions proved to be more effective.

Roman looked up, "Done?" "Done," Dean sighed, "Let's get the hell out of here." Roman agreed. They both walked down the halls in silence. As they turned the corner they could see Triple H standing there with Seth Rollins. They had seen the pair but Triple H and Seth hadn't seen them. Roman stood firm. Dean balled his fists up tight. "This isn't the place," Roman whispered, "I want everyone to witness the beating we give this son of a bitch." "I am with ya, brother," Dean spat, "We need a quick out... and now."

Roman turned and saw a small hallway to the right, "That way." Dean turned and they both hurried down the hallway until they were in the parking garage. Roman opened the door to their rental and popped the trunk. Dean threw his bag in as did Roman. "I don't like running like this man," Dean groaned. "Hey," Roman barked putting his hands on Dean's shoulders, "We are NOT running. It's a strategic retreat. We are coming at him from a different angle than this... where we are in control not him, not Triple H. US!" Dean nodded. "We aren't done Dean," Roman smirked, "We're just getting started."

Dean Ambrose clapped Roman on the back, "Damn straight Rome." Roman Reigns smiled at his friend, "Let's get out of here. There's a bed calling my name and you could use a good nights rest before Smackdown." Dean got into the car letting Roman drive. Leaning back into the seat, Dean could only dread what he and Roman would have to do to their once brother now traitor, Seth Rollins.

* * *

Dean couldn't sleep. He kept seeing the chair hit Roman's back and the look of hate in Seth's eyes. Sitting up from his bed, he ran his fingers through his hair. He was hot. Sweaty. Thirsty. Getting up he went to the bathroom of his hotel room and got a glass of water. Chugging it, he looked into the mirror. Circles under his eyes again. Sometimes it was hard to get enough rest when things were running through his mind.

That's it. Time for a walk. Dean grabbed a pair of sweatpants, a tshirt, and his mp3 player. Dean was thankful that they were near a small little park with a little paved walking path. He put the mp3 player's earphone in his ears. The music played and suddenly cut out. Dean stopped, "Dammit," it was dead. He felt a pair of eyes on him.

Looking up Dean saw the eyes of Maria on him. Maria was one of the new interview girls backstage. He'd seen her around but never spoken to her. Her eyes met his and she stopped mid stride. "uh, hi," She shyly spoke. Dean nodded, hitting his mp3 player against his hand repeatedly trying to get it to play. Maria smirked, "Mp3 player died?" Through clenched teeth Dean spoke, "Yea something like that."

Maria watched him in amusement, "That's not gonna work." "I know," he groaned, "Was hopin' though." "Well I'm headed in," she began, "You can borrow mine." Dean looked at her with his head tilted, "Excuse me?" "Take my MP3 player," She took the earphones from around her neck and handed it to him, "It may not be your taste in music but you can use it so you won't be bored." Dean just stood there with it in his hand. Her voice was soft as it spoke, "Just give it to me during Smackdown tapings tomorrow. I trust you." His face was blank.

"Goodnight," she called as she walked off. Dean looked down then back up to see her walking back towards the hotel. He sighed. This girl who didn't even know him was offering him kindness, something others hardly ever did. Roman did. Roman had taken Dean in like a brother letting him even attend personal family affairs like his own family. Dean never had anyone close to him care about him in such a way. Since he left to become a professional wrestler all anyone had done was give him cold shoulders. Calling him a lunatic. Crazy. Insane. They had cruel words for him. Turned the other way as not to cross his path.

Now this girl had offered him a kindness. He shrugged and pressed play on the MP3 player. Dean smiled big when _"Down with the Sickness"_ by Disturbed came on. He liked her already.


	2. Chapter 2

Dean and Roman had arrived at the arena. Roman did his pre-show ritual of warm ups and downing water. Dean paced back and forth. He was ready for anything Seth Rollins, Triple H, and Randy Orton had waiting for them. Dean picked up the black tape and began taping his hands. His eyes fell on his bag and the MP3 player that was on top. He had looked for Maria but did not see her. 'She'll find me', he thought. Roman stopped and looked up from his sit up, "YO! Dean!". Dean's eyes met his partner's, "Yea?" "Where's your head at man?" He shook it off and smirked, "On my damn shoulders." Roman let out a thunderous laughter, "Idiot". Dean smirked back, "Brute."

The night was quickly over. Dean hung his head. He didn't see Seth come out of no where and hit him. He heard Roman's throaty Samoan cry and the crowd go wild signaling that Roman had speared Seth. He had been put on his feet and helped back to the locker room by his partner and placed in a chair. "Dean," Roman snapped his fingers in front of Dean's face, "Earth to Dean Ambrose. You in there?" Dean's head jerked up, "Yea man. I'm here." Roman looked at his friend, "He didn't knock your damn brains out did he?" "NOPE".

As usual a one word response, Roman sighed, "He came out of no where. I think he came through the crowd." Dean nodded. Roman continued, "We'll get him." "Yea." Roman sat down and looked straight at Dean, "Dean." His eyes met Roman's. "You sure you're okay?" Dean nodded, "Yea just got blindsided. I swear that asshole... he'll get what's coming to him." Roman was taking off his tape from around his wrists, "Let's just get to the hotel. I could use a shower and a phone call to JoJo". Dean smiled, "yea man, let's get out of here."

They drove to the hotel in silence and went to their respective rooms. Dean turned on his shower. Taking off his gear, he stood under the warm water letting it soothe his muscles. He hung his head. He still was upset that he did not see Seth coming. Dean knew he had to start getting in the game. His mind had been else where. It had been on losing that damn match to Bray Wyatt. His one shot at the World Heavyweight Title at Money in the Bank. Seth had stopped him then too.

Seth fucking Rollins. To think Dean thought of him once as a brother. Now ... he would like to wrap his hands around Seth's throat and squeeze until his life drained from him. He would make him pay... dearly. Dean dried himself off and tossed the towel on the floor. The fuck if he cared. Wasn't his damn room anyway. Just another motel room. He was sick of them. Still night after night, it's what he had to do so he could pursue his dream, his love of wrestling. He slipped on a comfortable pair of shorts and then a knock came at the door.

Walking over to the door, he opened it. "Hi," a small voice spoke. Dean smirked. Maria. The small petite woman stood there, her brown hair pulled back into a low hanging ponytail and her brown eyes looking at him before looking down and blushing a deep red. That was when Dean realized he was in his shorts and no shirt with wet hair. He laughed, "Hi Maria. You come for your MP3 player?" She nodded shyly. He stepped away from the door, "Come in if you want, it's in my bag." He went to his bag across the room and began to dig as Maria let herself in and closed the door. "AH there it is," Dean said as he handed the small player to its owner. "Thank you," she smiled. "No thank you," he replied, "It was awesome to know someone liked that kind of music around here besides me. Disturbed, Avenged Sevenfold, In This Moment, Drain Sth... some awesome music there." "Yea, I like a lot of different kinds of music but I mostly stick to heavy on my MP3 player. Well," she paused, "Goodnight."

"Hey wait," Dean stopped her, "If you aren't busy, I really can't get to sleep. Too wired." Maria looked at him questionably. "I would like the company, I'll even put on a shirt," He smirked devilishly. Maria laughed a small, cute little laugh. It made Dean feel special for some strange reason. "Sure," she spoke sitting down at the small table, "I can't sleep on nights like tonight." "What does that mean?" "Well I have a neighbor in the room to my right who is having massive amounts of kinky sex yelling 'OH JOHN OH JOHN'. Ain't nobody sleepin' while that's going on." Dean laughed so hard, "Kinky sex huh? Is that what kinky sex sounds like?" "I would suppose since all you can hear is shattering glass, headboards knocking, and groans."

Maria was blushing. 'John', Dean thought... 'John Cena?' "Who's in that room, Maria?" "I don't know JOHN from what the girl was screaming... that or OH GOD", she laughed. He lifted an eyebrow, "Isn't Nikki on leave?" "Yea" "So if that's Cena..." Maria spoke quietly, "It's none of my business so I don't care. I try to stay out of the drama. You should too, it's not good to get the GOLDEN BOY on your bad side." Cena had just helped him and Roman against the Wyatts. "Yea I guess you got a point."

"Still," Dean spoke again, "Kinky sex." "Pervert," Maria laughed. Dean was smiling big. She got it. She got him and his playful nature. Most girls were put off by it. Maria seemed used to it even though they had never hung out until now. "Want to play cards?" Dean pulled out a deck he had in his bag. "Sure" "Texas Hold 'em" "Love it." "Good," he still had the smile on his face. "Why are you smiling like that?," Maria asked. "Well," Dean said shuffling the cards, "There is a beautiful girl in my room that gets my perverted jokes, plays cards... Texas Hold 'em at that, AND she loves some kick ass music. Must be my lucky night." "Don't bet on it," Maria smirked as he dealt the cards.


	3. Chapter 3

Dean groaned as the light from the window hit his eyes. "Damn", he sighed and when he shifted he felt another body beside him. Looking over, Maria turned over and smiled at him, "good morning." Dean smirked, "I would think something naughty here but I know better." Maria sat up fully dressed and well rested. They had played cards almost all night, gotten a little buzzed, laughed SO much, and just passed out side by side during a fit of giggles over what movie was more hyped up Hunger Games or Twilight.

"Well there's still time," Maria winked as she stood and stretched. Dean let out a small chuckle. He was silent for a while. Maria looked over at him still sitting in the bed, "Dean?" "Yea?" "You OK?," her head was tilted and her eyes roamed over him. He smirked, "Was thinking how funny it is, had you here all night long and made NO attempt to seduce you into this bed for anything other than sleep." Maria laughed, "Perhaps there is more to 'US' than that." Dean's eyebrows raised. He had never thought of it that way. With everything going on due to the break up of the Shield, Dean hadn't really craved a physical release in some time.

"I really hadn't thought about it," Dean said, "Not that I wouldn't... I mean, I..." "It's OK Dean," Maria smiled, "I take it as a compliment." Maria knew Dean's reputation with women. "I should get going," Maria sighed. Dean popped up out of the bed, "No, you don't have to go." "I should leave, don't want lots of people to see me come out of your room... they'll talk." "Let them," Dean frowned. Maria smiled down at him as she ruffled his messy hair, "See ya later tiger." She walked to the door and turned, "Thanks for last night, I had fun." Her smile was genuine and it made Dean feel a little less chaotic. He smiled in return, "So did I, let's do it again soon." She nodded and closed the door behind her.

Dean sat there for a moment. Why hadn't he taken advantage of Maria? Usually he'd have a girl in his bed, have his fill, and send her packing before the sun could even rise. Instead, they had played several games of cards. She won most of them and he had TRIED to win. Dean smiled at that memory. A memory. Something that usually wasn't a luxury to having for Dean Ambrose. He'd keep that one. Cherish it. As he made his way to the bathroom and started the shower he found himself thinking more on the previous night. As he let the water wash over him, he kept questioning why he hadn't made a move on Maria.

She was attractive. Small, petite, beautiful eyes, nice chest size... He couldn't deny he was attracted to her. Yet, he had kept his hands to himself. Enjoyed her simply as a presence and not done one thing to make her uncomfortable. When they drank a little, felt good, got a good buzz going, lost track of time and crashed. Instead of him trying to take her, he had let her curl up beside him, listened to her breath and in doing so, felt at peace for the first time in a long time. He allowed himself to let go and fell asleep beside her.

Drying off he dressed quickly and headed out. He met Roman at the venue for Main Event. "Hey man," Roman said with a quizzical look on his face, "You look well rested for a change. What did you do last night?" Dean kept a straight face, "I spent all night with a beautiful woman". "WHO?" "Maria." "Dean," Roman began, "You shouldn't..." "I didn't," Dean cut Roman off. He didn't need his best friend telling him what he should or should not do when it came to his PERSONAL life. "Nothing happened," Dean stated, "We played cards and talked. That's all. She fell asleep next to me... nothing physical. Not that it is any of your business."

Roman hummed a little and looked at Dean, "Well, just be careful. Anyone you bring into your life at this point is a target for the Authority." Dean hadn't thought about that. The last thing he needed was Maria coming to harm because of the stupid vendetta Seth has against him and Roman. He would have to keep his eyes on Maria. Make sure she was alright. But he wasn't willing to let her go right now. Not yet. The thought of it was a little hard for him. No. He'd just watch her closely and make sure Seth or the Authority didn't try anything. He'd protect her.

"DEAN!," Roman yelled. "WHAT?!" "Come out of your bubble man," Roman sighed, "I am sure Seth is going to have something to say tonight and we need to watch." "Yeah, yeah, yeah," Dean huffed. Dean didn't want to think about Seth Rollins or the Authority. Not now.

He began taping his hands and glancing over at Roman. "What man?," Roman asked. "What?" "You clearly have something on your mind," Roman looked Dean right in the eyes, "What's on your mind?" "It's just..." he swallowed a little, "what does it mean when you don't make a move on a girl you think you kind of like?" Roman laughed hard. "WHAT?!" "Dean Ambrose," Roman wiped the corner of his eyes, "We are in the fight of our lives against the Authority and you're asking for advice in love." Dean frowned, "So?" Roman just shook his head and chuckled, "What it means is you are probably done going from girl to girl."

Dean shrugged. Roman kept going, "Maybe you're tired of the one nighters. Maybe you want something more... REAL. Solid. Or I could be wrong." Dean kept taping his hands, "She is cute. And she likes my kind of music." "Mmm hmmm." "And she plays poker," Dean smiled a small smile from the corner of his mouth. Roman looked up and just smirked, "Yea man, you are showing all the signs." "Signs?" "You got it man." "Got what?" "Or rather," Roman laughed, "She's got you." Dean starred blankly at Roman. "LOVE MAN LOVE," Roman yelled, "You stupid dope. You could be slowly coming round to falling in love." "I don't do love. I don't do relationships." "Well, maybe now... you do."

Dean's eyes met Roman's and for a moment he looked mad but then, his eyes softened. "I am tired of being alone. I am tired of not having any one in my life... well except an overgrown gorilla who thinks he can boss me around." "Yea I love you too Dean." Dean chuckled, "No seriously, you are all I have since Seth..." And the thought was lost. Roman stood, "All we have is each other and I will ALWAYS have your back man You KNOW that." "I know." "But yea," Roman concluded, "You DO need someone in your life. Someone who will care for you the way my girls care for me. Everyone needs that Dean and you are no exception to that rule." Dean nodded.

"We deal with Seth as required," Roman stated, "And you sort out how you feel in the meantime. If this is something you want man, GO AFTER IT. But you have to make that choice. No one can make it for you." Dean nodded, "Thanks man." "You're welcome," Roman clapped him on the back hard, "Now, let's go, we got business." Dean nodded again and stood. Kicking ass was easy, Dean thought, sorting out these new feelings, that was going to be a challenge.

* * *

**Thanks for the reviews. I am back. Had to take a ltitle break. Too much going on with Pay Per Views, RAW, MAIN EVENT, SMACKDOWN... had me enthralled with it all so I sat back and ENJOYED. Hope you do too. I appreciate reviews and comments. Please feel free to leave them. Also check out my other stories. **


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